Feeding attachment for braiding-machines



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. D. GRIFFIN.

FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR BRAIDING MACHINES.

No. 439,943 Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

"10' 11AM {we-11km 4 33% cLmZZM gUQ w- I (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. D. GRIFFIN. FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOB. BRAIDING MACHINES.

No. 439,943. Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DUANE D. GRIFFIN, OF \VESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

FEEDING ATTACHMENT FOR BRAIDING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,943, dated. November 4, 1890.

Application filed October 9,1889. Serial No. 326,377. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, DUANE D. GRIFFIN, of Westfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Feeding Attachments for Braiding-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

My invention relates to machines for braiding a textile coveringupon a central core or upon the body of an article,'and has especial reference to machines designed for braiding articles of avarying diameter, such as whips, canes, &c.

The object of the invention is to provide such machines with means for feeding the work at a uniform speed through the machine, to the end that an even and uniform braiding of the covering throughout the entire length of the article can be secured.

To this end my invention consists in the feeding mechanism for braiding-machines, comprising a pair of revolving rolls supported in such manner as to be capable of a yielding movement in opposite direction hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts in the several figures, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a braiding-machine having my invention applied thereto, showing, also, separately, the hook hereinafter described. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the feeding mechanism. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of said mechanism. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the feeding-rolls, showing the work held between said rolls. Fig. 5 is a front view of the yielding bearings for the rollshafts and the frame in which said bearin gs. are supported. Fig. 6 is a cross-Section of said frame. Figs. 7 and 8 are a side and end View, respectively, of one of the bearingblocks.

In Fig. 1,the letter a designates the frame, I) thebobbins, c the bobbin-carriersfl the gears for operating said carriers, and e the stationary braiding-ring, of a Well-known form of braiding-machine. Without further illustration, it will be understood that the bobbins are carried by the carriers around the stationary ring 6 in serpentine and intersecting lines, and that the threads from said bobbins being led over said ring to the core-article supported centrally within the latter, as the article is fed vertically upward, are braided about its surface in such manner as to form a continuous covering thereon.

It has been customary to produce the feeding movement of articles of a varying diametersuch, for example, as a whip-by carrying a cord over two or more elevated pulleys, connecting one end of said cord to the tip end of the whi p, and securing to said cord near its opposite end a series of weights. As the angle which the braiding-threads make with the whip between the latter and the ring e is considerably greater when the tip end of the whip is being covered than when the threads sistance offered by the threads to the feeding movement of the whipis correspondingly greater at the tip than at the butt, such resistance decreasing as the braiding progresses toward the latter. To compensate for such varying resistance, it has been the custom to locate the series of weights at difierent points upon the cord and to provide a support upon which said weights are successively deposited, thus gradually reducing the feeding strain upon the whip. It has been found that such form of feeding mechanism is open to the objection that by reason of the uneven revolving movement of one or more of the pulleys over which the cord is led, the varying flexibility of the cord itself, and various other causes an uneven feeding movement of the whip is liable to occur, which movement results in the uneven braiding of the whip, thereby greatly marl-ing the appearance of the whip and decreasing its value. I have discovered that these and other objections to such method of producing the feeding movement of this class of work can be entirely obviated and a steady and uniform movement thereof secured by means of two revolving rolls adapted to bear upon opposite sides of the work and having a capacity to yield in opposite directions to allow for the varying diameter of the work. It is obvious that the means for supporting and operating said rolls can be greatly varied, and I have herein shown what I consider to be the most simple and desirable form of such means, which I will now proceed to describe.

The letter f designates a vertically-disposed standard or support. which is firmly secured in position adjacent to the braiding-machine, and which is provided at its upper end with the horizontal arm f, extending over said machine, as shown in Fig. 1. In the vertical portion of said standard is j ournaled a Vertical shaft g, carrying at its lower end a gearwheel g, which meshes with one of the bobbin-carrier-gears d of the machine, and at its upper end a worm 9 To the front end of the arm f of said standard is secured a horizontally-disposed frame h, and to its rear end a similarly-disposed bra cket h,in which frame and bracket are journaled two horizontal shafts la said shafts carrying at their front ends the feeding-rolls k and at their rear ends the intermeshing gears W. The shaft 70 is continued through the bracket h, and carries at its extreme end the worm-gear 10 which I meshes with worm 9 Motion is thus transmitted to shaft is from one of the bobbin-carrier gears through shaft g, and through gears 10 shaft 70 is revolved uniformly with shaft 70 in the opposite direction. The feeding-rolls being thus revolved uniformly in opposite directions, it is obvious that any article held between them will be given a steady and even feeding movement throughout its entire length. In order to provide for the varying diameter of the work, however, it becomes necessary to make said rolls capable of a limited movement toward and away from each other, and to provide means for holding them against the work with a yielding pressure. As herein shown, I secure these results by journaling the front ends of the shafts 10 k in bearing-blocks h", movably mounted within the frame 72, against which blocks bear the coil-springs 71 located between the ends of theframe and said blocks. As shown in Figs. 6 and 8, the edges of said blocks are provided with V-shaped grooves to receive the similarly-shaped edges of the openings in the frame in which the blocks are located, whereby the latter are held within the frame in such manner as to move freely therein; but other ways of forming a sliding connection between said parts will readily suggest themselves. The blocks are provided with open bearings for the shafts,

as shown, to prevent any cramping action between them and the shafts, and the bearings h in the bracket h for the rear ends of the shafts are preferably made slightly conical, as indicated in Fig. 2, to permit the very slight lateral movement of the shafts at that end. As thus arranged, the rolls are held in engagement with each other, as shown in Fig. 2, by the springs h so long as nothing is inserted between them, and are free to yield in opposite directions to receive the article, as represented in Fig. 4, bearing against the same with a yielding pressure regardless of its varying diameter. To facilitate removing the work from the rolls, I provide means for positively separating the latter, which means, as shown, consists of a lever m, pivotally secured to a bracket m, extending laterally from arm f of standard f, said lever belng located between the shafts k and k, and having the engaging-lugs m which lugs, as the lever is rotated upon its pivot, bear against said shafts and force them laterally in opposite directions.

When the article to be braided is long and slender-such as a whip, for example-it is desirable that means for retaining the upper end thereof in a vertical position after the same has passed upwardly between thefeeding-rolls be employed, and for this purpose I prefer to use a cord led over a pulley 'n", in a manner similar to that hereinbefore referred to as having been employed as a feeding device, one end of said cord n being provided with a hook at to engage the end of the article to be braided, and the opposite end carrying a weight n sufficient merely to keep the article in a vertical position. The hook n is passed downward between the rolls, as shown in Fig. 1, to engage the upper end of the whip or otherarticle, and to prevent said hook from turning in such manner as to obstruct its upward passage between the rolls I make the shank thereof fiat, as represented in the two views thereof shown in Fig. 1, or flatten one of the sides thereof, whereby any revolving movement of said stem about its axis is prevented.

The operation of the feeding mechanism thus constructed will be obvious from the foregoing description.

The hook at, being passed downward between the feeding-rolls, is connected to the upper end of the article to be braidedas, for example, to the tip end of a whip. The ends of the threads from the bobbins are secured to said tip in the usual manner, and the machine is started.

The steady and uniform revolving movement of the feeding-rolls, derived from one of the gears d of the machine through the described intermediate connections, causes said rolls to impart a steady and uniform upward feeding movement to the hook n and then to the whip itself, which movement is continued throughout the entire length of the whip, thereby causing the threads from the bobbins to be braided uniformly throughout, and cansin g the whip to present a uniform appearance from butt to tip. Then the braiding operation has been completed, the whip can be readily removed from the rolls by slightly separating the latter by means of the lever m, and a new whip having been started through the rolls the operation goes on as before.

I have herein shown the rolls as having smooth peripheries; but grooved or fluted rolls can be used, if desired, to accomplish the same result.

While I prefer to take the motive power for the feed-rolls from one of the gears d/of the machine, as shown, as the standard f and the parts carried thereby can then be located upon either side of the machine as may be most convenient, I do not wish to limit myself to such method of securing the revolving movement of said rolls, nor tothe particular combination and arrangement of parts shown for transmitting motion from said gear to said rolls, as various modifications therein can be made within the spirit of my invention.

By the use of the feeding device herein described a great saving in the manufacture of whips, canes, fishing-rods, and other similar articles having a braided textile covering is effected, inasmuch as uneven braiding-such as has heretofore resulted from the uneven feed of the work through the machine and which materially decreases the salable value of the workis entirely obviated.

I am aware that braiding-machines have heretofore been provided with feed-rolls, one of which has fixed bearings and the other of which is capable of a yielding movement toward and away from said fixed roll; but such feed-rolls are designed for work of a uniform diameter or thickness and are wholly unsuited for work of a varying diameter-such as a whip or cane for the reason that as the braiding progresses from the smaller toward the larger end of the article the axial center of the article would be gradually displaced from the center of the braiding-ring by the fixed feed-roll in such manner as to render the even and uniform braiding thereof an impossibility. On the other hand, by making both rolls capable of a yielding movement, as herein described, I am enabled to constantly retain the whip or other tapered article in the exact center of the braiding-ring, and to cause the threads to be laid evenly and uniformly upon the surface thereof from one end to the other. I therefore disclaim any construction in which both feeding-rolls are not capable of a uniform yielding movement in opposite directions. 1 i

The particular form of braiding-machine herein shown and described is employed for the purpose of illustrating the application of my invention to braiding-machines generally, and I do not wish to limit myself thereto.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The feeding attachment for braiding-machines herein described, comprising two oppositelydriven feed-rolls located centrally above the braiding mechanism of said machine, both of said rolls being free to move ,toward and away from each other and being pressed in the former direction by springs, substantially as set forth.

2. The feeding attachment forbraiding-ma chines herein described, comprising two feedrolls supported centrally above the braiding mechanism of said machine,both of said rolls being free to move toward and away from each other and being pressed'in the former direc-. tion by springs, and means, substantially as described, for imparting a revolving movement to said 'rolls in opposite directions from a moving part of the machine, combined and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The feeding attachment for braiding-machines herein described, comprising, in combination, two shafts carrying intermeshing gears, each of said shafts having one end thereof supported in bearings which are capable of yielding in opposite directions, a feed-roll secured upon each of said shafts, and intermediate connections, substantially as described, between one of said shafts and a moving part of the machine, whereby a revolving movement is transmitted to the former from the latter, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with a braiding mechanism comprising a series of bobbin-carriers and gears for moving said carriers about the central plane of the machine, of two feedrolls located above the center of said mechanism, said rolls being carried by two horizontally-disposed shafts, one end of each of which shafts is supported in alaterally-yielding bearing, intermeshing gears mounted upon said shafts, and a vertically-disposed shaft, one end of which is operatively connected to one of said shafts and the other to one of said bobbin-carrier gears, whereby said roll-carrying shafts are revolved in opposite directions, substantially as set forth.

5. The feeding attachment for braiding-machines herein described, comprising shafts 7.: 76', rolls k mounted upon said shafts, respectively, frame h, blocks h ,1novably mounted in said frame and supporting the front ends of said shafts, springs pressing said blocks toward the center of said frame, and means, substantially as described, for revolving said shafts in opposite directions, combined and operating substantially as described.

6. In afeeding attachment for braiding-machines, the combination,with the shafts k is, carrying rolls k and having their front ends mounted in the sliding blocks 72 of springs h pressing said" blocks toward each other, and means, as lever on, for moving said blocks and shafts in the opposite direction, substantially as set forth.

7. In afeeding attachmentfor braiding-machines, the combination,with frame It, having an opening therein, of bearing blocks 7L mounted within the opening in said frame in such manner as to be capable of a sliding movement therein, springs h pressing said blocks toward the middle of said frame, shafts '70 it, having their front ends supported by said blocks and carrying at their rear ends gears rolls k mounted upon said shafts at their front ends, and means for imparting motion to one of said shafts, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination, with a braiding-machine having a pair of oppositely-driven feedrolls located aboi e the same, of ahook adaptupward movement to said hook, arranged and ed to engage the upper end of the Work being Operating substantially as set forth. operated upon to keep the same in a vertical position, said hook having the shank thereof DUANE D. GRIFFIN. 5 flattened, substantially as described, to pre- Witnesses:

Vent rotary movement thereof when held be- W. H. CHAPMAN,

tween said rolls, and means for imparting an J. E. CHAPMAN. 

